Jagmeet Singh no closer to decision on NDP leadership

MPP Jagmeet Singh with Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath at Queen's Park in Toronto on Thursday, February 25, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

If Jagmeet Singh’s status is any indication, it could be a while before the NDP leadership race gets going in earnest.

The NDP’s 37-year old deputy leader at Queen’s Park, whose possible interest in a federal party leadership bid has been a source of speculation for months, still doesn’t seem to be in any rush to make a decision. He figures he isn’t alone.

“At this point in time, it’s just too far out for anybody to announce. I think that’s why you’re not seeing anyone jump in yet,” Singh said Monday afternoon from Toronto.

While the Conservative race now has 12 or 13 candidates — depending on how seriously you take some nascent campaigns — there still isn’t one official NDP candidate.

Singh attributes that to the fact the Conservatives are choosing their leader in May, whereas New Democrats won’t vote for five to six months after that — in October 2017.

“You need a certain amount of time to build and run a campaign, but you don’t want it to be too long, because people get burnt out and it no longer has the excitement,” Singh said.

“I’m really honoured that people have been encouraging me to consider … I’m hearing folks out and I’m keeping my mind open to that opportunity.”

The former criminal lawyer, who quickly made a name for himself after being elected in the 2011 provincial election, was immediately grouped among the frontrunners following Tom Mulcair’s failed leadership approval vote at the April convention in Edmonton.

Though an April Mainstreet Research found a plurality of 598 NDP supporters (26 per cent) undecided about the best NDP leadership candidate, Singh was tied for second with Avi Lewis — the son of former Ontario NDP Leader Stephen Lewis and co-author of the controversial Leap Manifesto — at 11 per cent.

Nathan Cullen was first, at 17 per cent, but ruled out a run at the start of June.

Since then, Singh has given a keynote address on diversity and inequality at the Alberta NDP’s June convention and a Draft Jagmeet Singh For Leader of Canada’s NDP page, which only launched on Facebook in August, is up to 1,537 members.

I’m extremely honoured and excited to deliver the keynote address on Diversity and Inequality at this year’s Alberta NDP convention #yyc16

“I’m … torn, because it’s really exciting provincially. I really like my role as deputy leader and it’s a fun time to be a New Democrat in the province,” he said, citing the party’s promise to introduce a $15 minimum wage and eliminate the interest paid on Ontario student loans.

“For the first time we have a really declining sense of support for the Liberals, which hasn’t happened in a while. We’ve not seen this level of disapproval provincially for the Liberals in a long time.”

One recent poll, conducted earlier this month by Forum, had Patrick Brown’s Progressive Conservatives leading Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government by 20 percentage points, with 45 per cent total support.

The NDP was two percentage points behind the Liberals at 23. But Singh thinks Andrea Horwath’s experience as a leader could provide an advantage — especially since the next provincial election, which has to be held by October 4, 2018, will be Brown’s first as leader.

With Singh being pulled in two directions, he has “no set deadline” on making a decision.

Nor does he see the need to resign as the MPP for Bramalea-Gore-Malton if he decides to run for the federal leadership.

In Singh’s view, Patrick Brown’s decision to remain a federal MP while he ran for the provincial leadership has created a “precedent”.

“He ran for the leadership and then only resigned when the result was determined. I think that precedent was well accepted by people,” he said.